Angels 10, Dodgers 4
The dominance continues even in spring training. That aside, both Joe Torre and Stan Conte said after the game that groin injuries to pitchers are ALWAYS a concern, especially since this one is to Billingsley's push-off leg. The next step is a series of muscle tests that will take place tomorrow to see how he responds. Stan said it's often more about how the pitcher feels the next day than how he feels when the injury occurs. Loretta said he hurt himself making a lunging play on a forceout in the bottom of the fifth inning. Said if it were the regular season, he would have stayed in the game. ... Dodgers had nine hits today, ALL of them singles. ... Brian Mazone pitched the eighth inning and stranded a runner on third. He now has pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, spread over eight appearances, this spring. He also is a left-hander. And the Dodgers NEED a left-handed reliever. But this guy probably will begin the season at abq. ... Dodgers fall to 13-12.
Tony,
I believe i saw pictures of Jason Schmidt pitching yesterday on the Dodgers site, but i can't find anything about it online. Did he indeed pitch?
Tony, heard on MLB Network last night that Pedro is willing to be patient and bide his time. And looks like the D's are "set" with a plan for their fifth starter.
Do you have reason to believe the Dodgers have even entertained a Pedro scenario?
Also, what's the status of Kuo and Wade? Don't hear too much about them?
Pedro = a very expensive 5.00 ERA
McDonald can provide the same thing (and possibly much better) for the minimum.
But what if bringing him up too soon stunts his growth a la Edwin Jackson? It could be years before he recovers...
McDonald: Age 24
Jackson: Age 20 (in 2003)
McDonald: 472.2 minor league IP
Jackson: 253 minor league IP (in 2003)
As noted above, there's a pretty significant difference in terms of seasoning between these guys.
There are enough similarities to make it a valid concern.
Especially considering there are other options...
It's hard to respond to such a vague answer, but I'll try anyway.
McDonald was actually destroying Double-A competition in 2007, yet the Dodgers avoided bringing him up even when they were bone dry on reliable starting pitchers late in the year (David Wells, anyone?). If anything, they have been CONSERVATIVE in his progression, while also doing their best to protect his confidence (bullpen duty during blowouts, etc). He did an excellent job and by all accounts, has the makeup & drive to be a very good major league pitcher.
Jackson, on the other hand, was a young flamethrower in '03 - he had a dominant fastball, but not close to the secondary offerings that McD uses these days (plus curveball and change).
Because McD is able to pitch backwards and keep hitters guessing, they can't sit on his fastball (which he can dial-up when he needs the extra velocity). This is why, right now, McDonald is much more prepared to pitch in the majors than Jackson was at that time.
But if you want to drop $5M + incentives on a "name" pitcher, go ahead. In the end, the risk is still high, so it's better to go with the younger, cheaper, and possibly better version.
Pedro isn't the only option. All of the other potential 5th starters are capable of struggling through 5 innings and giving up 3-5 runs just as well as Pedro...
But I hope you're right if McD gets his chance.
The real problem is the potential strain that the 4 and 5 starters are going to put on the bullpen.
Last year, the Dodgers could deal with Kershaw only giving them 5 innings/game. If he can't get deeper into ball games this year AND McD is going the next day then it could get ugly quickly...
But hopefully the improved offense will pick up the slack...